Long Beach State University Experts Available to Comment on Supreme Court Nomination Process, Politics
LONG BEACH, Calif. (Aug. 14, 2018) – The Supreme Court is likely to be at the center of upcoming news cycles, and Long Beach State University faculty are available to speak with reporters covering the judiciary.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley recently announced plans for Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearing to commence on Sept. 4. If confirmed, Kavanaugh would become the second associate justice to ascend to the court on the basis of a nomination from President Donald Trump. The hearings are scheduled to precede what promises to be a closely-watched midterm election.
“Given the timing of the confirmation hearings for Judge Kavanaugh, I think it is clear that both Grassley and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell want to get the process over with before the midterm elections and likely believe they have the votes to do so, “ Dr. Jared Perkins, assistant professor of political science at Long Beach State University, said.
“This timing will likely force swing-state senators, like Claire McCaskill in Missouri, Joe Manchin in West Virginia, and Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota, to take a firm stance on a judge that may go on to vote in cases on issues like abortion, immigration, and religious freedom that resonate with many voters in their states,” Perkins added.
Perkins is available to speak to reporters covering issues related to Kavanaugh’s nomination. He is available for perspective on the nomination process itself as well as the future of landmark cases, particularly Roe v. Wade and Obergefell v. Hodges, which respectively concluded with the Supreme Court affirming rights to abortion and same-sex marriage. He may be contacted via email at Jared.Perkins@csulb.edu.
Dr. Jason Whitehead, associate professor of political science, is also the director of the campus’ Legal Studies Certificate Program. He is available to speak to reporters on the Supreme Court nomination process and judicial politics.
“What seems particularly significant to me is the way that the Kavanaugh nomination, if successful, would represent the long-term success of the judicial conservative movement,” Whitehead said.
Whitehead placed current events in the context of past conservative opposition to the decisions of the Warren Court and liberals’ success in blocking the Reagan Administration from appointing Judge Robert Bork to the high court. If confirmed, Kavanaugh would replace retired Justice Anthony Kennedy. Kennedy held the seat Reagan had sought to give to Bork.
“Now, after more than 30 years of work, the judicial conservative movement is finally poised to reverse that failure by replacing that very same justice with a movement conservative,” he added. “It's quite an amazing story of a determined and resourceful political movement refusing to be sidetracked, maintaining its vision, adapting through failure, and finally achieving an unlikely goal.”
Whitehead may be contacted by email at Jason.Whitehead@csulb.edu or by telephone at 310-748-4076.
